Erik - Norway
Mathias - Denmark
Svea - Fem!Sweden
Eva - Fem!Iceland
Lars - Netherlands
Marianne - Fem!France
Elizabeth - Fem!England
Alyssa - Fem!America
Chapter Nine:
"Your sisters like hosting a lot of parties," Natalia remarked as people roamed about, talking loudly with drinks in their hands.
"Iggy's a party animal, what can I say?" Matthew said drily as his older sister stormed by, a drunken Marianne chasing after her. Natalia laughed and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you," Matthew said dreamily, kissing her on the forehead. Saying that felt like such a relief – like they were a proper couple now.
"O-oh," Natalia said, looking startled. Before she could say anything else, Lars appeared, grinning his 'oh hey I'm a cock-block' grin.
"You need to get laid," he said cheerfully to Matthew, making Matthew roll his eyes at him.
"Actually, I think you're the one who needs to get laid. I get plenty of ass...love," he quickly corrected, noticing Natalia giving him a look. Lars rolled his eyes.
"Whatever," he scoffed. A pair of freshmen girls who Alyssa was friends with [that girl had friends from everywhere] passed by, attracting Lars' attention. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to ask if one or both of those girls want to be my midnight kiss," Lars said slyly, slinking off.
"Creep!" Matthew called out after his friend. He pitied those girls. Lars, when he was getting his creep on, was unstoppable.
"I don't see why it's so important for people to have someone to kiss at midnight on New Years' Eve," Natalia remarked.
Matthew shrugged. "Tradition, I guess? This is first year I've actually had someone to kiss," he admitted. Natalia giggled.
Because Ivan and Alyssa were now occupying Matthew's and Natalia's favourite spot to make-out [honestly, neither felt like they were ever going to use that corner now that Ivan and Alyssa had tainted it with their goddamn insatiable libidos], Matthew and Natalia found a spot on the couch to just chill, soon joined by Tino and Svea.
"Did you see Mathias?" Tino asked, sinking down next to Matthew.
Matthew shook his head, confused. "Nah. Why?" he asked.
Svea rolled her eyes as Tino smirked, pointing to the living room's entrance. There was Mathias, happily making out with none other than Erik.
"What," Matthew said flatly as Natalia stared at them in confusion, both of their eyes widening. "I swear Erik wanted nothing to do with Mathias," he said.
"He does," Tino replied.
Matthew frowned. "Then why...?"
"Drunk," Svea said as Tino laughed.
"Erik doesn't drink as much as we do so his tolerance is pretty low," Tino explained.
"How much did he have?" Matthew asked in awe as Erik eagerly kissed Mathias, who looked like he was in heaven.
"A lot," Svea replied, shaking her head as they saw Erik drunkenly grab Mathias' ass. "Poor Eva," she added, nudging her head towards the silver haired girl standing next to Raivis, another freshman. Eva was making horrified gagging sounds, looking disgusted.
"Is Mathias drunk too?" Natalia asked curiously.
"No. He's going to vividly remember tonight," Tino said, chuckling.
"Idiot," Svea scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Eva joined the group just then, looking irritated. "And people wonder why I don't like admitting he's my brother," she declared, flopping down next to Svea, who patted her knee sympathetically.
"On the plus side; Mathias will be your new brother-in-law," Matthew teased.
"Please. We're all going to be attending Mathias' funeral 'cause Erik is going to murder him when he finds out what happened tonight," Eva said with a snort.
"I wouldn't tell him," Tino and Mathias both said in unison, both exchanging amused smirks.
"Though," Tino mused thoughtfully as an afterthought, "Mathias would tell him. He'd be so pleased that he and Erik are getting somewhere that he'd tell Erik."
"Idiot," Svea repeated and the group nodded their agreement.
Lars appeared at the moment, frowning. "Those girls said no...dunno why. Their loss, though," he said, shoving Matthew and Tino apart so he could sit down.
"Girls typically don't like creeps, just sayin'," Matthew said helpfully and Lars scowled.
"Now who am I supposed to kiss at midnight?" Lars demanded. He glanced at Eva and suddenly looked thoughtful. Eva returned the glance, looking wary. "Hey Björk-"
"No."
"Why not?" Lars demanded as everyone else laughed.
"'Cause I don't want to?"
"Like that's a good reason," Lars scoffed.
"I'm too young," Eva shot back.
"Twelve is my age limit, babe. You're plenty old enough for me."
"You are such a creep."
"It's my middle name," Lars replied cheekily.
"Is he ever going to give up?" Eva asked Matthew.
"Nope. I suggest you say yes and then run away," Matthew said and Lars scowled.
"You're a douche," Lars snarled.
"Love you too, bro~" Matthew said cheerfully.
The group continued to talk after that and before any of them knew it, the countdown to midnight had begun. The group split up; Matthew and Natalia went upstairs to find some privacy, Svea and Tino thought it would be cool to celebrate the New Year outside and no one really knew what happened to Lars and Eva, though Matthew was sure Lars spent the final countdown trying to convince Eva to kiss him.
"This was fun," Natalia said cheerfully as they sat at the top of the staircase. She leaned against Matthew's shoulder and looked very peaceful. Not too far away, they could hear people chanting, already at ten seconds.
"TEN, NINE, EIGHT..."
"I love you, Nat," Matthew said blissfully, gently lifting up Natalia's chin so that they were looking at each other.
"...FIVE, FOUR, THREE..."
"Y-yes," Natalia said awkwardly.
"...ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" people shouted around them. Matthew didn't pay attention to them, already kissing Natalia.
It never hit him that she looked uncomfortable the entire time.
Matthew tapped his foot absently as he waited for Natalia to leave her class. The bell had already rung and most of the students had already left, save for the few people who were staying after school for extracurricular activities. Matthew made a mental note to sign up for some club to keep him busy. He had already finished submitting his applications to various universities and since his marks didn't look like they were going to drop any time soon, he needed something to keep him busy but wasn't too much of a commitment.
"Oh," Natalia said as she came out of the classroom and spotted Matthew waiting for her. "I thought you would've gone home," she said, walking past Matthew to get to her locker.
"Nah, I promised we were going to get double doubles at Tim's, didn't I?" Matthew said cheerfully, following her.
"I can't go to Tim Hortons today," Natalia said quickly, looking away. She put her backpack down and began to fiddle at her lock.
"That's alright, maybe we can go tomorrow," Matthew said, leaning against the adjacent locker.
"I don't think I can make it then either," Natalia said quietly, opening her locker and pulling out binders from her backpack to put away.
"Oh," Matthew said, frowning. "I guess we can figure something else out then," he said optimistically. "Do you need a ride home?" he asked suddenly. "I could drive you – I have the car today because Alyssa said she's going with Ivan," he told her.
"No, I told Ivan I was coming with him," Natalia replied. Matthew laughed.
"You're gonna end up being a cockblock, considering this is my sister we're talking about. She probably wanted to do something else other than getting dropped off home in that car. Nice," Matthew said in amused appreciation. Natalia didn't smile back, quietly locking her locker and picking up her backpack. "Are you alright, Nat? You look upset," Matthew asked finally, cluing in on Natalia's mood.
"It's nothing," Natalia said quickly, walking away. Matthew jogged to catch up to her.
"Seriously, what's wrong?" Matthew asked, concerned. Natalia took a deep breath in.
"We need to break up," she said finally, not making eye-contact with Matthew. Matthew froze, looking shocked; his stomach feeling like it had just been dropped from a twenty story building.
"What?" he asked finally.
"You're a really nice boy but I don't think I'm ready for such a relationship. We're only seventeen – I haven't gone to university yet and education right now is my main priority and I can't risk getting caught up with love. I don't love you back and I tried but I don't – I like you a lot – but it's not fair for you. You deserve to be with someone who loves you back just as much and..." Natalia took a deep breath in, "I'm sorry."
"Wait, is this because I told you loved you?" Matthew asked, confused. "I won't say it again if-"
"That's not the point!" Natalia interrupted. "I really like you but...I'm not ready for a very serious relationship. We're still very young and we have our futures ahead of us and I really can't afford risking it. In order to keep my marks up I need to devote myself to schoolwork and that's not fair to you. You need someone who can be a good girlfriend and spend as much time as you and love you as much as you love them," she said, looking upset.
"I don't need any of-"
"I'm sorry, but it's final. I really hope we can stay friends, though," Natalia added, blinking frantically. "I should go," she said, biting her lip. She leaned forward to give Matthew a final goodbye kiss on the cheek but Matthew moved away, staring steadily at the wall past Natalia. Natalia swallowed thickly and backed away, quickly walking out of the school. Matthew continued to stare at the wall silently as he heard his sister's voice greet Natalia enthusiastically and the sounds of Ivan pulling out of the school's parking lot. Matthew let out a sigh before walking out of the school himself, ignoring the cold air biting at his unprotected ears.
Fuck, he needed some timbits.
Matthew pressed the lock button twice and trudged up his porch, numbly unlocking the door to his house and walking in.
"Oh there you are, Matthew, I've been waiting for you," Elizabeth said, walking up to him briskly. "Would it be possible for you to go to the store and buy-"
"Mathieu! I'll be needing your help attempting this recipe someone gave me at work~!" Marianne said, waving a piece of paper in the air.
"Mattie! D'you wanna go on a double date with me and Ivan? Ivan's boss gave him four tickets to some show playing downtown so you and Nat could come and-"
"We can't," Matthew said flatly, interrupting Alyssa.
Alyssa looked crestfallen. "Are you sure? Could you at least as Nat and-"
"We can't," Matthew repeated, kicking his shoes off and shaking the snow out of his hair.
"Why not?" Alyssa demanded, looking annoyed. "I mean, you haven't even asked Nat if she wants to and—"
"We broke up," Matthew said finally, silencing Alyssa.
Marianne, Elizabeth and Alyssa looked horrified.
"What?" they chorused in equal amounts of shock.
"Tell me everything!" Alyssa demanded, grabbing Matthew by the arm and dragging him to the couch. Elizabeth took Matthew's backpack and placed it on the ground, following them and Marianne into the living room.
"She broke up with me. She said she didn't love me enough and that she wasn't ready for that type of relationship and she needed to focus on her studies and stuff," Matthew said numbly, staring out into space.
"I'll kill her," Alyssa growled, standing up.
"No!" Matthew exclaimed, dragging Alyssa back onto the couch. "It's alright, seriously. We've agreed to be friends and stuff," he said, not really meaning it. "I just need some time to calm down or something," he added.
Elizabeth and Marianne exchanged looks. "I'll stop by at the store," Elizabeth said, reaching down to take the car keys from Matthew's hands.
"I'll get the stash," Marianne declared.
"I'll get pillows and sheets," Alyssa offered eagerly.
Matthew stared at them, stupefied. "What are you guys doing?" he asked.
"The protocol for break-ups," Marianne informed him.
"The what...?" Matthew asked, still confused.
"Men," Marianne snorted, rolling her eyes.
"You'll see," Elizabeth replied, briskly walking out of the room. Marianne followed suit and after quickly patting Matthew on the head, Alyssa ran out, leaving Matthew alone in the living room.
"Well at least you didn't ditch me," Matthew remarked to Kumajiro, who ran into the room and leapt onto Matthew's lap. Personally, he still felt like crap – after all, how could Natalia just dump him like that? It came out of nowhere; they had been so happy together before that. It was also particularly embarrassing; Alyssa and Ivan were still going strong so Matthew was still going to have to see Natalia, whether he wanted to or not. Perhaps after a few weeks he'd be over her and it wouldn't be so awkward to be around her.
"But probably not," Matthew mused out loud, scratching Kumajiro's stomach.
"I'm back!" he heard Alyssa cry out and before Matthew could turn, he was bombarded with an avalanche of pillows and bed sheets.
"What is all of this even for?" Matthew asked as Alyssa began to arrange the pillows around him, making Matthew feel like he was sitting on a cloud.
"I have returned!" Marianne declared dramatically, a large amount of DVDs in her hands. "I have the Notebook, August Rush, the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Love Actually, Sex and the City, Mean Girls – I also have the sequels of both, wouldn't that be fun to mock – and Kill Bill Volume One and Two," Marianne recited, dropping the DVDs onto Matthew's lap. "Choose whichever one to watch first," she said, sitting down on the other side of him.
Before Matthew could ask why, the front door was heard opening. "I've got ice cream!" They heard Elizabeth exclaimed. "Chocolate, French Vanilla, Pistachio and Maple," she listed, walking into the living room and handing Alyssa the chocolate tub of ice cream, Marianne the pistachio and Matthew the maple. "I'll get spoons," Elizabeth added, disappearing into the kitchen.
"Ice cream? In January?" Matthew questioned, confused.
"Protocol, bro. After a breakup, one must indulge in fattening ice cream and refuse to leave their bed slash couch and go on an all night chick flick marathon," Alyssa said, adopting an uppity British voice.
"You're lucky it's a Friday – we can marathon all weekend," Marianne added, taking the spoon Elizabeth handed to her.
"And if we run out of chick flicks, we'll have to find some more empowering woman movies for you to watch," Elizabeth added. She paused. "Or, I suppose, empowering man movies, since you aren't a woman," she remarked.
"Oh, and everyone go change into sweatpants," Marianne commanded. Elizabeth and Alyssa nodded, both standing up.
"But why?" Matthew asked in exasperation.
"Post break-up protocol," the other three said in unison and Matthew sighed. He followed his sisters and Marianne upstairs and quickly got changed. He wondered if he should even bother going back downstairs when Alyssa appeared, dragging him back to the fluffy cloud that had become their couch.
"Oooh, can we watch Sex and the City?" Alyssa begged once they had all snuggled in. "I love that movie!"
"Sex and the City it is," Marianne agreed, standing to put the movie in the DVD player.
Matthew opened his tub of ice cream warily. This was going to be a long night.
Matthew sniffed in a manly sort of way as Cady and Regina awkwardly smiled at each other. It awesome that Regina finally found an outlet for her kinda scary temper problems and it was pretty hilarious that Kevin and Janis were dating. Hilarious, but totally awesome.
Matthew phone began to buzz, vibrating on the coffee table not too far away. Matthew reached over to pick it up, feeling bloated from all that ice cream.
"Hello?" Matthew asked quietly.
"This is Ivan," Ivan said from the other line. "Natalia just told me about what happened. I am very sorry, Matvey."
"It's alright, you don't have to be," Matthew said quickly.
"I will break up with Alyssa, if you want me to," Ivan offered.
"What? No! Just because me and Natalia broke up doesn't mean you have to!" Matthew exclaimed, dropping his voice just in time. "I'm serious – don't break up because of us. Me and Nat are fine; we'll stay friends and stuff," he said, actually meaning it this time. Man, how did chick flicks and ice cream manage to get him over Natalia ish? Freaky.
"Will you be alright?" Ivan asked, concerned.
Alyssa snorted softly in her sleep. Matthew glanced at her, and then at Elizabeth and Marianne on his other side. Both women were fast asleep; the two of them still holding hands.
Matthew smiled.
"Yeah, I think I'll be just fine."
A/N: And so, Nat and Matt are no more. Ah well; GILBERT, TIME TO SWOOP IN AND MAKE YER MOVE~
Thank you for waiting such a long time between updates~ Writing's helping me cope loads, and I've recently gotten obsessed with Homestuck [just finished it today, oh yeah]. Any Homestuck fans out there? Is it just me, or do Dave and Prussia have a lot in common? Apart from the white-blonde hair, red eyes, coolness, ownage of blogs, and having brothers with weird fetishes? I dunno, Dave always gives me Prussia-vibes, the way Karkat gives me Romano-vibes. But everyone I've asked said they never saw the similarities between Dave and Prussia soooo... I guess it's just me xDD
Review?
